People with homosexual and bisexual orientation have been rejected, judged, ridiculed, and mocked for a long time. With the start of the gay movements of the Western world in the second half of the 60s, the attacks on homosexuals for the lack of morality, for perversion and different crimes started piling up. When in 1973 the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases, the question: “Why so many heterosexuals have strongly negative attitude toward homosexuals?” became increasingly important and is subject of scientific research. Though for the negative attitudes toward homosexuality are used two words - “homophobia” and “heterosexism,” the first one mainly means an individual negative view of homosexuality, and the second means the social and societal negative attitude as well as the tendency to institutionalize the suppression of non- heterosexual people.

     Homophobia
Social prejudice toward homosexuality crystallizes as the term “homophobia” for a first time in the writing of the heterosexual psychologist George Weinberg in the end of the 1960s. Weinberg uses the term “homophobia” to describe the fear of heterosexuals to stay in a homosexual environment or just close to homosexuals as well as the self-hatred of homosexuals. The term was used for a first time in scientific research in the 1969 and then widely used in Weinberg’s book “Society and the Healthy Homosexual,” published in 1972. In an American dictionary of 1992, the word “homophobia” is defined as “repulsion from homosexual people, homosexual lifestyle, and homosexual culture” and “attitude or action based on that repulsion.” Another definition of homophobia identify it as “unreasonable fear from homosexuality”

     Heterosexism
About the same time when the term “homophobia” appears, the term “heterosexism” comes to be used by analogy to “sexism” and “racism”. Heterosexism is used to describe an ideology system which denies, ridicules, and stereotypes every non- heterosexual behavior, self-identification, intimate relationship, or community. The usage of the term “heterosexism draws the border between the hatred toward the homosexuals, bisexuals, travestites, and the other forms of prejudices toward different groups of people as with racism, anti-Semitism, or sexism.
As with racism or sexism, the heterosexism penetrates politics, societal attitudes, 
the institutions. Its expressions are secret gossips, reports to authorities and open attacks on homosexuals. The aim is mostly to keep homosexuality invisible. When a woman makes a step toward coming out or creates a homosexual relationship, right away she becomes an object to ridicules and attacks by the heterosexual society, and this is an expression of heterosexism.
Examples of heterosexism in our society are the impossibility of homosexuals to serve in the army, the ban on homosexuals to donate blood, the omission of sexual orientation in the list of minorities which are safeguarded from the law on anti- discrimination, the denial to give a right to homosexual coupes to same- sex partnerships, denial to give them the right to adopt children, and some other less significant ones.

     The limitations of terminology
In the attempt to describe and explore the attitude of hatred and intolerance toward homosexuals, the coining of the above described terms “homophobia” and “heterosexism” serve their purpose at a first glance. Despite that, some critics notice that the term “homophobia” is problematic at least on two counts.
-    On the first place, this is the clinical usage of the term “phobia.” Numerous research studies have shown that none of the negative attitudes toward homosexuals can be counted as “phobia” in the clinical sense of this word. It has been argued that many heterosexuals who express hatred toward homosexuals do not show noticeable physiological reactions toward homosexuality that can be compared to other physiological reactions in phobic states.
-    On the second place, the usage of the term homophobia as understood to mean anti-homosexual prejudices and as used individually is not a social phenomena, ruling a whole cultural ideology and group interests.
Anti-homosexual attitudes become increasingly popular and widely expressed, and these terms have served the theories fully till in the 80s the development of political science and ideology started terminological arguments and problems. Anyhow, though the term heterosexism covers more fully the societal attitudes and is not so individually oriented, it cannot substitute the term “homophobia” to describe the meaning of this word.
Thus, the other term is born:

     Sexual prejudice
Scientific analysis of psychology of anti- homosexual attitudes can be facilitated by new terminology. One such term is “sexual prejudices.” As a whole, the term relates to all negative attitudes based on sexual orientation, no matter if it is homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual, though in the current state of society, victims of these prejudices are the homosexuals and bisexuals, and never the heterosexuals.
As with the other types of prejudices, there are three main directions of expression:
   - Statements, attacks, and attitudes toward a particular person
   - Attitudes toward a whole group and its members
   - Negative behavior, expressions of hatred and aggression.
Entailing negative attitudes of heterosexuals toward bi and homosexuals in “sexual prejudice” instead with “homophobia” or “heterosexism” has advantages as it describes an attitude instead of social position. Nevertheless, the term is new and its meaning and scope has to be further clarified.

According to the laws of oppression, the members of the oppressed group most offer represent a minority of VICTIMS, and on a certain level, the members of the dominant or oppressing group are the TYRANTS. Though the effect of oppression is different for every victimized and oppressing group, the end result is that everyone is on the loosing side.

Homophobia is limiting for all people in their personal relations and determines what is the only possible division between the sexes and the only possible direction of personal feelings. The particularities of homophobia make it easy for one to encircle everyone in his or her heterosexual vision of people and to force himself or herself to treat the different people with intolerance and hatred- something which contradicts humanity and the spirit of modern time in which we claim to live.

The homophobia denies, forbids, and judges the possibility that a person is attracted to an individual from the same sex. Homophobia limits interaction of people with a considerable part of society, even worse - it limits interaction and understanding in families of homosexuals.

The social aspect of homophobia prevents some lesbians, gays, bisexuals and travestites to develop their specific identity, forces them to create families with members of the opposite sex and this, in the end, creates stress for the homosexuals, for their heterosexual partners, and for their children.

Homophobia is one of the reasons for the premature heterosexual intimate contacts of many young girls which on the other hand, increases the risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. This happens because many young girls with homosexual orientation feel forced to be sexually active to prove to themselves, their friends, and families that they are normal.

The homophobia, combined with sex phobia (fear and repulsion from sex) which are engrained in young girls since early childhood leads to lack of any kind of discussion about sexuality, about relationships between the people and the sexes, which then leads to formation of individuals who are incapable of developing normal contacts with whichever sex.

The homophobia is used to dehumanize and isolate, and in some circumstances - to claim that some heterosexual people are homosexual because they present an obstacle for someone’s interests. The homophobia limits the heterosexual people as they cannot get a sense of the homosexuals to profit from their skills and intellect, their social or spiritual imagination and capabilities, their contribution to culture, the arts, religion, family life… all fields of contemporary life.

The homophobia drains a lot of energy which could be directed in many useful and constructive activities. The homophobia limits the possibilities of diversity of the human sexuality and individuality and in this way, it becomes a danger for everyone of us people because every person, every individual has his or her unique features, capabilities, and skills which this person should be able to express…to be useful to oneself and to the society in which he or she lives. That is why we all suffer when even one person is subjected to sexual discrimination.

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